Grooved chamber for a food-product separation machine

ABSTRACT

A separation assembly for a food product separating machine configured to separate meat product from bone product includes a separation chamber defined by a circumferential side wall, a longitudinal axis, and a radius. The separation chamber includes a plurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall and at least one V-shaped groove disposed along an inner surface of the circumferential side wall. The V-shaped groove is defined by a vertex and an angle bisector of the vertex and is formed in an inner surface of the chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/244,989, filed Jan. 10, 2019, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/643,844, filed on Mar.16, 2018, the entire contents of which applications are incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to a separating machine for food products, suchas meat, and more particularly, to a recovery system having a separationchamber with an interior grooved configuration.

A typical separation machine includes a hopper that receives material tobe separated with respect to a combination of meat and bone product, andan advancement mechanism, such as a rotatable auger that conveys thematerial away from the hopper toward a separation chamber. Theseparation chamber is typically coupled to a downstream dischargeopening or outlet having a valve or ring valve that controls pressurebuild-up within the separation chamber.

Systems have been developed for the purpose of separating hard material,such as bone and bone fragments, from soft material, such as meatproduct. Representative hard material collection systems are shown anddescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,461,800 issued Dec. 9, 2008 and assigned toWeiler & Co.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,086 issued Sep. 6, 1994 and assignedto Weiler & Co.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,979 issued Mar. 1, 1994 andassigned to Weiler & Co.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,829 issued Oct. 12,1993 and assigned to Weiler & Co., the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference. Typically, hard material collectionsystems of this type route the hard material in a downstream directionfor discharge, while soft material exits through apertures in theseparation chamber.

However, such systems are relatively inefficient with respect to movingthe combination of hard and soft material in the downstream directionbecause the auger that rotates within the separation chamber tends tocause the food mass to spin within the separation chamber and not moveefficiently in the downstream direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with embodiments of present invention, a separationassembly for a food product separating machine configured to separatemeat product from bone product includes a separation chamber defined bya circumferential side wall, a longitudinal axis, and a radius. Theseparation chamber includes a plurality of apertures disposed in thecircumferential side wall, and at least one V-shaped groove disposedalong an inner surface of the circumferential side wall. The V-shapedgroove is defined by a vertex, two legs extending from the vertex, andan angle bisector of the vertex, and is formed in an inner surface ofthe chamber such that the angle bisector is tilted relative to theradius of the chamber.

In another embodiment, a separation assembly for a food productseparating machine for separating meat product from bone productincludes a separation chamber defined by a circumferential side wall, alongitudinal axis, and a radius. The separation chamber includes aplurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall andfurther includes a plurality of V-shaped grooves disposed along an innersurface of the circumferential side wall. Each V-shaped groove isdefined by a vertex and an angle bisector of the vertex, and each of theV-shaped grooves is formed in the inner surface such that the anglebisector is tilted relative to the radius of the chamber.

In a further embodiment, a food product separating machine separatesmeat product from bone product in a mixed food product. The separatingmachine includes a food hopper configured to contain mixed food productand dispense the mixed food product from a hopper outlet disposed towarda bottom portion of the food hopper. An auger in communication with thehopper outlet receives the mixed food product dispensed from the hopperoutlet at an upstream portion of the auger. A hollow cylindricalseparation chamber receives a portion of the auger where the cylindricalseparation chamber is defined by a circumferential side wall, alongitudinal axis, and a radius. The separation chamber further includesa plurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall, anda plurality of V-shaped grooves disposed along an inner surface of thecircumferential side wall, where the V-shaped grooves are defined by avertex and an angle bisector of the vertex. The V-shaped grooves areformed in the inner surface such that the angle bisector is tiltedrelative to the radius of the chamber.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood,however, that the detailed description and accompanying drawings, whileindicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given byway of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the present inventionwithout departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includesall such modifications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein areillustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like referencenumerals represent like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1-2 are perspective views of a separation chamber.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a food product separation machineutilizing the separation chamber of FIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 4 is an end view of a food product separation machine of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a separation assembly of the food productseparation machine of FIGS. 3-4, shown in a closed compression position.

FIGS. 6-7 show sectional end views of the separation chamber of FIGS.1-2.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional end view of a portion of the separationchamber of FIGS. 6-7, particularly showing the cross-sectional shape ofthe grooves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various features and advantageous details of the subject matterdisclosed herein are explained more fully with reference to thenon-limiting embodiments described in detail in the followingdescription.

FIGS. 1-2 show a separation chamber 100 for use in a food separationmachine 300 shown in FIGS. 3-5. The separation chamber 100 has a hollowcylindrical configuration, and may include a plurality of apertures orchannel-like slits 110 disposed in a circumferential side wall 114 ofthe separation chamber 100. The apertures 114 are shown as rectangularin the figures, but may be any suitable shape. Preferably, theseparation chamber 100 is cylindrical and has a constant diameter alongits length. However, in other embodiments, the separation chamber 100may have a somewhat conical or tapered shape (not shown), which maytaper from an upstream location toward a downstream location.

As shown in FIGS. 3-5, the food separation machine 300 may include aplatform or support 306, a controller 310, and a hopper 314 configuredto receive a mass of food stuff, including meat product and bone and/orbone fragments. A motor 316 supported in the platform 306 powers anauger 320 via a belt 324, gear arrangement, or other means, and whichauger 320 may be located under an opening 330 disposed at the bottomportion of the hopper 314. The meat product drops through an opening 330at the bottom of the hopper 314 in communication with the auger 320. Asthe auger 320 rotates, the food product is transported in the downstreamdirection, shown by arrow A (FIG. 3), toward a separation assembly 336.

The separation assembly 336 may include a separation housing 340, aninlet portion 344, a bone pack outlet portion 350, a valve or ring valve356 located proximal the bone pack outlet portion 350, a meataccumulation portion 358 coupled to a meat outlet portion 362, and theseparation chamber 100. The auger 320 extends from under the hopper 314and through the separation chamber 100 substantially along the entirelength of the separation chamber 100.

In operation, as the auger 320 rotates, pressure builds up within theseparation chamber 100 as the mass of food stuff moves in the downstreamdirection. The build-up of pressure is controlled or regulated by thevalve or ring valve 356 at the downstream end of the separation chamber100. The pressure within the separation chamber 100 forces softmaterial, such as meat, through the plurality of apertures 110 in thesidewall 114 of the separation chamber 100 and into the meataccumulation portion 358, which meat is then discharged through the meatoutlet portion 362 for collection. Bone and bone fragments that are toolarge to exit through the plurality of apertures 110 and are carrieddownstream toward the bone pack outlet portion 350 for removal anddisposal.

Referring back to FIGS. 1-2 and 6, the separation chamber 100 may bedefined by the circumferential side wall 114, a longitudinal axis 120,and a radius R, best shown in FIG. 6. As discussed above, the pluralityof apertures 110 disposed in the circumferential side wall 114 permitsoft food product, such as meat, to pass therethrough under pressure asthe auger 320 rotates. In one specific embodiment, the slots orapertures 110 may be arranged in columns along an axial length of theseparation chamber 100, and such columns may be disposed evenly orunevenly about the circumference of the separation chamber 100. Althoughthe apertures 110 are shown as slots or channels in the drawings, theplurality of apertures 110 may be any suitable shape, such as circular,polygonal, and the like.

An interior portion 126 of the separation chamber 100 may include atleast one V-shaped groove 128 disposed along an inner surface of thecircumferential side wall 114. The V-shaped groove 128 may be defined bya vertex 132, two legs extending from the vertex, and an angle bisector134 (FIG. 8) of the vertex 132. The V-shaped grooves 128 and may beformed in the inner surface of the separation chamber 100 and furthermay run along substantially an entire length of the separation chamber100. The V-shaped grooves 128 may facilitate downstream movement of themass of food stuff because as the auger 320 rotates, the food stuff isforced into the V-shaped grooves 128 and under pressure, and may movedownstream in the direction of auger rotation. The auger 320 proximal tothe walls of the V-shaped grooves 128 tend to “scrape” the mass of foodproduct to induce downstream movement. In known chambers having a smoothinternal structure, meaning without internal grooves, the mass of foodproduct tends to rotate internally as the auger rotates withoutadvancing downstream to the same degree as the auger advances.

Although three V-shaped grooves 128 are shown in the drawings, anysuitable number of V-shaped grooves 128 may be formed. In oneembodiment, the V-shaped grooves 128 may run parallel to thelongitudinal axis 120 of the separation chamber 100 along a length ofthe V-shaped groove 128. In another embodiment, the V-shaped grooves 128may run along a helical path (not shown) along a length of the chamber.Note that the vertex of the V-shaped groove is smooth or rounded ratherthan sharp or pointed so as to avoid “trapping” food product.

As shown in the figures, each of the V-shaped grooves 128 may have aconstant cross-sectional shape along its length. As discussed above,each V-shaped groove 128 may be defined by its vertex 132 and its anglebisector 134. Preferably, each V-shaped groove 128 subtends an angle ofabout 60 degrees, but in alternate embodiments, each V-shaped groove 128may subtend an angle of about between 25 degrees and 100 degrees.

As shown in greater detail in FIGS. 6-8, the angle bisector 134 may betilted relative to the radius R of the separation chamber 100, wheresuch tilt is shown to be in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis 120 of the separation chamber 100. The angle bisector 134 may betilted by any suitable angular amount. Preferably, the angle of tilt (T,see FIG. 8), may be about 30 degrees, but in alternate embodiments, theangle of tilt T relative to the radius R of the separation chamber 100may be between 0 degrees and about 45 degrees relative to the radius R.As shown in the figures, the V-shaped groove 128 may be further definedby two legs extending from the vertex, namely a shorter leg 810 and alonger leg 812. Preferably, the shorter leg 810 of the V-shaped groove128 is aligned along the radius R of the separation chamber 100, whichfacilitates scraping off the food product and urging the food product inthe downstream direction. This is best shown in FIG. 8.

The separation chamber 100 may be formed from a casting or may be milledfrom a single piece. Alternatively, the separation chamber 100 may beformed from a plurality of thin disks or ring segments spot-welded orbolted together along their length. To facility this manufacturingapproach, a plurality of cutouts 140 may be formed in the outercircumference of the each thin disk. Eighteen such cutouts 140 are shownin FIG. 7, but any suitable number may be used to facilitate themanufacturing process. Many such identical disks may be stacked to formthe length of the separation chamber 100. To hold all of the disks inalignment such that the V-shaped groove 128 is formed smoothly in theinterior of the separation chamber 100, an alignment bar (not shown) maybe inserted into each of the cutouts 140 along the entire length of theseparation chamber 100. Once all of the thin disks are held in precisealignment, the disks may be welded along the exterior to form a unitaryseparation chamber 100. Alternatively, a support jig (not shown) mayclamp the plurality of ring segments together along the cutouts 140 tofacilitate welding in place.

It should be understood that the invention and its various embodimentsare not limited in its application to the details of construction andarrangements of the components set forth herein. Variations andmodifications of the foregoing are within the scope of the presentinvention. It also being understood that the invention disclosed anddefined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more ofthe individual features mentioned or evident from the text and/ordrawings. All of these different combinations constitute variousalternative aspects of the present invention. The embodiments describedherein explain the best modes known for practicing the invention andwill enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention.

We claim:
 1. A separation assembly for a food product separating machineconfigured to separate meat product from bone product, the assemblycomprising: a chamber defined by a circumferential side wall, alongitudinal axis, and a radius; a plurality of apertures disposed inthe circumferential side wall; at least one V-shaped groove disposedalong an inner surface of the circumferential side wall, the V-shapedgroove defined by a vertex, two legs extending from the vertex, and anangle bisector of the vertex; and the V-shaped groove formed in theinner surface of the circumferential side wall.
 2. The assembly of claim1, wherein the angle bisector of the V-shaped groove is tilted relativeto the radius of the chamber.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein thetwo legs correspond to a shorter leg and a longer leg, wherein theshorter leg is aligned along the radius of the chamber.
 4. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the V-shaped groove subtends an angle of between 25degrees and 100 degrees.
 5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theV-shaped groove subtends an angle of about 60 degrees.
 6. The assemblyof claim 1, wherein the angle bisector is tilted at an angle of between0 degrees and 45 degrees relative to the radius of the chamber.
 7. Theassembly of claim 1, wherein the V-shaped groove runs parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the chamber along a length of the V-shaped groove.8. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the V-shaped groove is helical alonga length of the chamber.
 9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theV-shaped groove has a constant cross-sectional shape along its length.10. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the chamber is cylindrical has aconstant diameter along its length.
 11. The assembly of claim 1, whereinthe chamber has a conical shape and tapers from an upstream locationtoward a downstream location.
 12. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theplurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall arerectangular or slot-like.
 13. The assembly of claim 11, wherein theplurality of apertures are arranged as columns of slots along the axiallength of the chamber, the columns disposed about a circumference of thechamber.
 14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of aperturesdisposed in the circumferential side wall are round or polygonal. 15.The assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one V-shaped groove runsalong substantially an entire length of the chamber.
 16. A separationassembly for a food product separating machine configured to separatemeat product from bone product, the assembly comprising: a chamberdefined by a circumferential side wall, a longitudinal axis, and aradius; a plurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential sidewall; a plurality of V-shaped grooves disposed along an inner surface ofthe circumferential side wall, each V-shaped groove defined by a vertexand an angle bisector of the vertex; and the V-shaped grooves formed inthe inner surface of the circumferential side wall.
 17. The assembly ofclaim 16, wherein the angle bisector of at least one of the plurality ofV-shaped grooves is tilted relative to the radius of the chamber. 18.The assembly of claim 16, wherein the angle bisector of each of theV-shaped grooves is tilted relative to the radius of the chamber. 19.The assembly of claim 16, wherein the V-shaped grooves run parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the chamber along a length of the V-shapedgrooves.
 20. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the V-shaped grooves arehelical along a length of the chamber.
 21. The assembly of claim 16,wherein the chamber is cylindrical has a constant diameter along itslength.
 22. The assembly of claim 16, wherein the chamber has a conicalshape and tapers from an upstream location toward a downstream location.23. A food product separating machine configured to separate meatproduct from bone product in a mixed food product, the separatingmachine comprising: a food hopper configured to contain the mixed foodproduct and dispense the mixed food product from a hopper outletdisposed toward a bottom portion of the food hopper; an auger incommunication with the hopper outlet and configured to receive the mixedfood product dispensed from the hopper outlet at an upstream portion ofthe auger; a hollow chamber configured to receive a portion of the augertherein, the cylindrical chamber defined by a circumferential side wall,a longitudinal axis, and a radius; the chamber further comprising: aplurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall; aplurality of V-shaped grooves disposed along an inner surface of thecircumferential side wall, the V-shaped grooves defined by a vertex andan angle bisector of the vertex; and the V-shaped grooves formed in theinner surface of the circumferential sidewall.
 24. The assembly of claim23, wherein the angle bisector of at least one of the plurality ofV-shaped grooves is tilted relative to the radius of the chamber.
 25. Aseparation assembly for a food product separating machine configured toseparate meat product from bone product, the assembly comprising: aseparation chamber defined by a circumferential side wall, alongitudinal axis, and a radius; a plurality of apertures disposed inthe circumferential side wall to facilitate passing of the meat producttherethrough under pressure induced by an auger rotating within theseparation chamber; at least one V-shaped groove disposed along an innersurface of the circumferential side wall, the V-shaped groove defined bya vertex, two legs extending from the vertex, and an angle bisector ofthe vertex; and the V-shaped groove formed in the inner surface of thecircumferential side wall.
 26. The assembly of claim 25, wherein theangle bisector of at least one of the plurality of V-shaped grooves istilted relative to the radius of the chamber.